Supporting Migrant Children in Pediatric Settings: Lessons Learned from the US Migrant Humanitarian Crisis Response

Abstract

This article examines the influx of migrants to the United States and highlights current global and local immigration trends. The authors focus on migrant children—specifically the effect of migration trauma in the context of humanitarian responses to the intentional movement of migrants to Democrat-led cities across the US to humanize the compounded effects of migration trauma, restrictive immigration policies, and the current resettlement landscape for migrants. The authors are directly involved with supporting migrant arrivals who have relocated to Chicago from the southern border, and apply field knowledge to articulate current barriers to accessing health care and best practices within pediatric settings supporting migrant arrivals. Clinical and practice implications for medical providers in pediatric settings are included. The article also highlights the role of interdisciplinary collaboration in providing health care to asylum-seeking migrants and implications for transdisciplinary workforce development in this area. [ Pediatr Ann . 2024;53(5):e171–e177.]